Sigh.

[timnitgebru@dair-community.social]

Sigh.

Bernie has gone full on "super intelligent AI could become smarter than human beings" and "pose an existential threat to the entire human race."

Literal quote from him. Dude was supposed to be the guy against Silicon Vally CEOs not the one who parrots their propaganda.

[burnitdown@beige.party]

@timnitGebru all social democrats can do is disappoint and hold the door open for fascists.

[glitzersachen@hachyderm.io]

@timnitGebru

The problem is: Politician don't have sufficient fantasy. So they fill in "X might be a threat" always as "X might wipe out mankind". They're simply lacking the concepts to imagine more insidious damage that would unfold with less visibility and over a longer time frame.

Sometimes I've the impression they're all influenced by "Terminator" or "Matrix": The conflict with "the machines" which ends in a short spectacular show-down between humankind and machines.

[krans@mastodon.me.uk]

@timnitGebru It seems that no-one is immune to the brain worms.

I'm morbidly resigned to know that when they come for me, I won't realize that it's happened

[curiousmagpie@beige.party]

@timnitGebru the guy allowed the BernieBros to harass people in his name with no censure - he 100% lost my trust years ago

[gryphonmyers@mastodon.social]

@timnitGebru I've observed that most normies don't understand that doomers are just boosters doing sci-fi cosplay

[virtualwolf@toot.virtualwolf.org]

@timnitGebru

[kfort@social.sciences.re]

@timnitGebru Sanders ??? Wtf???

[kolya@social.cologne]

@timnitGebru you need to find your own guy in your own generation, not someone who jammed at woodstock, even if he means well

[wings_radio@mastodon.social]

@timnitGebru Glad to hear you don't place credence in that claim.

[khrys@mamot.fr]

@timnitGebru

[kbm0@mastodon.social]

@timnitGebru It's a clever trap. If you want to drum up sympathy against AI, the doomsday scenario that it could wipe us all out seems rhetorically attractive. The infinitely more dangerous issues of climate impact, devaluation of truth and erosion of the social contracts by which we all make a living, may seem too amorphous to articulate plainy.

[harry_wood@en.osm.town]

@gryphonmyers @timnitGebru I'm not sure I understand about doomers being boosters to be honest. I mean you could be a doomer without about a booster couldn't you?

[doctormo@floss.social]

@timnitGebru

More context is needed.

Bernie is just a person, swimming in a soup of humanity. I've got a lot of grace for the man who bussed medications over the Canadian border for his constituents and that comment alone doesn't even come close to Patrick Leahy's dumb legislation.

[craigbro@infosec.exchange]

@timnitGebru Vermonter here, I’m presuming he has bad guidance on this and is not distinguishing between efficacy of AI, the threat of this form of capitalist exploitation and their fantasies — which is what he is fighting against and his primary concern.

I have many friends who are not in the field who genuinely believe in AI as existential threat — because it’s what they hear and they are not trained or have the context to know better. I don’t presume any of them are carrying water for the exploiters because of that. I refer them to DAIR and your materials, for example.

[tylercheung@mastodon.social]

@timnitGebru tbh I appreciate Bernie in spirit but I feel he was never the best at details/operations